The hotel they were setting up in was small and out of the way but close enough they could get to the school within minutes. Right now all they could do was sit and compile information as it trickled in. Boredom was a foe they fought in cases like this.
Boomer sat on the other bed glaring into space with his arms folded across his chest. He felt claustrophobic and wanted nothing more than to go for a run or workout. Punishing his body was the only thing that was going to make him feel better. He still couldn’t believe he’d been dumb enough to fall for her act.
She was good he’d give her credit for that. She made love to him like she meant it. That whole bit about not having sex since she conceived Raya was a nice touch. She must have gotten a good laugh.
He missed Raya. Life was going to be empty without her and the thought of never seeing her again was more than he could swallow. Maybe he could get Sam to talk to Hannah and let him see her once in a while.
“Hey Boomer, how’s that wound doin’? You need the dressin’ changed?” Ricochet asked trying to draw him from his funk.
“Maybe later,” he grumbled. “It doesn’t even hurt right now.” At least he didn’t think it hurt. He was so pissed he could take a bullet and not feel it.
His adrenaline was pumping so hard through his system he couldn’t tolerate sitting any longer. “I need to get out of here.” He jumped from the bed and barged through the door.
The cool fall air blasted him in the face chilling his skin to the same temperature as his insides. As his feet pounded against the sidewalk he tried to forget about Hannah, pushing her from his mind as hard as he could. It was over and he needed to accept it. It had been nothing more than a few days of seduction and good sex. No matter how he felt about anything else the sex was good. At least he had that and Raya.
God, his heart ached. He picked up his pace, pumping his legs harder, slamming his feet to the ground in anger. He wasn’t this angry when he found out that he was being trapped into marriage. Why would this hurt worse than that? It didn’t matter. It was finished.
An hour later he found himself at a small park, not the one he’d brought Hannah and Raya to earlier in the day but similar. He stood staring at the swings, his breath huffing out steam in the cold air. Hannah’s laughter echoed inside his head, her smiling eyes embedded in his memory. He closed his eyes, fisted his hands and cursed himself for being so weak.
He turned and ran as fast as he could. Sweat beaded on his skin, his heart hammered inside his chest and his wound throbbed. He didn’t mind the pain. It gave him something else to think about. The sun was setting, dropping the air temperature ten degrees. It felt good against his heated skin. When he reached the hotel he stopped in the parking lot, bent forward resting his hands on his thighs and allowed his heart to slow its pace.
Walking into that room with his friends like this was the last thing he wanted to do. They were already worried about him, seeing him panting like a fool would only worry them more. When he stood his knife wound protested. Acute, piercing pain shot all the way through his back and deep inside his guts.
“Stupid,” he snarled. What the hell did he think would happen working his muscles so hard this soon?
He gave himself a few minutes for the pain to recede and walked to the hotel room door. His hand rested on the doorknob. Did he really want to go inside and be looked at with pity by Sam? Kong and Rico wouldn’t do that, they knew better. There was an unwritten code between them that they didn’t interfere in each other’s romantic lives—unless it was necessary of course, much like he did when Kong was being an ass about Sam.
After a deep cleansing breath he opened the door and walked in. Kong was still memorizing the map. Rico was cleaning his rifle, talking to it like he always did. Sam was sorting through files making notes. It seemed as though they weren’t aware he was back. Good, that was good, he thought to himself. He could grab a shower in peace.
He strolled to the bathroom, closed the door and shed his clothes. Once the water was nice and warm he stepped in and groaned. Hotel bathrooms were so small. The shower head was as high as his head, which meant he’d have to crouch to get his face and head wet. Oh well, it wasn’t the first time this happened.
When he was satisfied he was sufficiently clean he stepped from the shower, wrapped a towel that didn’t quite cover him around his waist and then it hit him. He’d left his clothes at Hannah’s. The only thing he had to put on was his sweaty clothes. He opened the bathroom door and stormed into the room.
“Dude!” Ricochet screeched.
He looked at the three of them. Ricochet was making strange distorted faces. Sam was gawking, her mouth hanging open and her eyes were the size of dinner plates. And Kong, well he was torn between laughing and being pissed Sam was so interested.
“Ah, buddy,” Kong said half snickering. “We like having you around but there’s a little too much of you around right now.”
“I left my damn clothes at Hannah’s.”
“Ya don’t say?” Ricochet said sarcastically. “You couldn’t remember that before you got all nekkid? Man put it away, please.”
“Who’s gonna get my clothes for me?” He tried to pull the towel closed but it just wasn’t big enough.
“If it means not havin’ to look at your boys hangin’ out all over the place I’ll go.”
“Thank you,” Boomer said running his hand through his wet hair.
“You can thank me by goin’ back in the bathroom and sparin’ us the free show. Jeez man, there’s a woman present.”
“She’s seen men naked before.” He wasn’t thinking or paying attention to the way Sam was staring. All he was concerned about was retrieving his belongings.
“I’m goin’. I’ll be back shortly. Just cover your damn self up.”
Boomer watched Rico leave. Part of him wanted to go and see Hannah one last time. To look in her eyes and see if there was something there besides betrayal.
“Uh-ummm.” Kong cleared his throat dragging him from his thoughts.
His gaze darted to Kong. When he gave him a nod toward the bathroom he realized he was making them uncomfortable so he quickly disappeared. Not before he heard Kong.
“Close your mouth, Sam. You’re drooling.”
* * * * *
A good portion of Hannah’s late afternoon was spent holding Raya and crying. Her daughter knew she was upset about Boomer leaving but had no idea what the circumstances were surrounding his departure. She kept telling her he’d come back, that they were meant to be a family which only made her cry harder.
Eventually Raya pried herself free from Hannah’s grip and hurried off to her bedroom. That’s when Hannah decided she’d spent enough time sobbing over a man who didn’t think she deserved a chance to explain her situation.
“It couldn’t have meant that much to him,” she told herself. “Not if he wouldn’t give me the time to explain.”
She and Raya had spent the last seven years alone and they had done just fine. They’d be fine for the next seven and the seven after that. She didn’t need men. Especially ones who were so quick-tempered and only thought about themselves.
“That isn’t fair,” she whispered. The whole time he was there he put them ahead of himself. And as far as being quick tempered was concerned, well she couldn’t blame him in this particular case.
She stood up from the couch and wandered around the tiny living room, her arms wrapped around herself. “Life will go on. People break up all the time and they still keep going,” she told herself. “It’s not like he was part of our lives for months or even years, just a few days. Tomorrow will be better and the day after that even better.”
It was ridiculous really, getting all bent out of shape over this. She’d been through worse with men. She spotted his pajama pants lying over the back of her chair and snatched them up. He’d left without his things which meant he’d be coming back for them. That was fine. She could show him how strong she was, that she didn’t need him. She’d
pack all his crap up and throw it at him when he came back for it. He wasn’t the only one with a temper.
“You can think all the hateful things you want about me, Ben Campbell,” she huffed stuffing his clothes and toiletries in a bag. “Until you have a child to worry about don’t judge me.”
She just finished packing the rest of his things when a knock sounded at the door. Her heart stuttered and her breath caught in her lungs. Was it him? All her anger drained to her feet and melted into the floor. Maybe she could convince him to listen to her, give her a chance to explain. She ran to the door and yanked it open.
“Hey Hannah. I came to get Boomer’s stuff,” Ricochet said with a half-hearted smile.
Disappointment and heartache overcame her. She fought back the tears that welled from the empty hole where her heart had been and struggled to keep from falling to the floor in a puddle.
“Sure Carl, come on in. I just finished packing it all up.” She tried to make her voice sound sturdy and strong but it came across as weak and feeble.
She picked up the bag and handed it to him. “I think I have everything in there. If I missed something give me a call.”
“Thanks.” Ricochet turned and headed toward the door.
“So this is the way he’s going to leave it?” she asked with desperation in her voice. “I don’t get to tell my side of the story?”
Ricochet stopped, paused a second and turned back toward her. “If it’s any consolation I think I understand where you’re comin’ from. You have a kid to think about. I remember my mom makin’ some decisions that hurt her to protect me and my sister.”
“Thank you,” she said twisting her hands.
“That bein’ said, you picked the wrong guy to hold out on. Like I said before he was used once and it’s stuck with him. He’s got a big heart, ready to help anyone who needs it but the down side to that is he gets hurt easily. He’s a big oaf who falls hard when he falls.”
Raya walked into the room and smiled.
“Hey kid, how ya feelin’?” Ricochet asked.
Hannah signed his question to Raya and watched as her little hands flew furiously through the air. “She says she feels better and wants to give you something.”
“Okay,” Ricochet replied and laughed when she disappeared down the hall. “She’s a great kid, Hannah.”
“I know. She doesn’t realize he won’t be coming back and I can’t tell her.”
Raya returned to the room and handed Ricochet an envelope. “Please give this to Ben,” she signed as Hannah translated.
“I’ll make sure he gets it,” Rico said taking the letter. “I’m sorry, Hannah, this whole situation sucks. Maybe when this is all over he’ll come ‘round.”
“You believe that?” she asked.
Rico shrugged his broad shoulders. “Anythin’s possible.”
When Ricochet was gone Hannah turned to Raya. “What was that you gave him?”
“Just some pictures I drew to remind him of us,” she signed and then went back to her room.
Hannah watched her daughter, the most important thing in her life, twirl and dance her way back to her bedroom. She’s what this whole mess was about and if he couldn’t understand that then he didn’t deserve them. For the first time all afternoon she felt like the woman she was four days ago.
* * * * *
Boomer was sitting on the edge of the bed still in his towel when the door opened and Ricochet walked in. The look on his face was dismal and turned to disgust when he saw he was still wearing the towel.
“Where’s Kong and Sam?” he asked tossing the bag at him.
“Kong dragged her out shortly after you left and they went over to their room.”
“Can you blame him?”
“Have any trouble?” Boomer asked changing the subject.
“Nope. She had it all packed up when I got there.”
Boomer grunted. She was probably ready to throw it all out. Since she was done with him she didn’t need his things hanging around. He twisted his grief into anger as he dumped his clothes out on the bed.
Ricochet fumbled with his rifle as Boomer got dressed. Ben wanted to ask if she was all right. He wanted to know if she had asked about him. But he didn’t want to sound like a teenager with raging hormones so he tossed things around instead.
“You ain’t even gonna ask are ya?”
“Ask what?”
“Anythin’, anythin’ about her?”
“Why should I?”
“Okay then I’ll tell ya. She looked like she’d been cryin’ for hours. Her eyes were all red and puffy, her nose looked like Rudolph’s and she was shakin’ so bad she could hardly stand.”
His heart lurched inside his chest. She’d been crying but was it because he left or because he found out she was using him and her little plan had been blown?
“Look man, I don’t agree with how she handled the situation. And it pisses me off that she used you like that but I think she has real feelin’s for ya. No woman cries that hard over a man she don’t like.”
Boomer did his best to ignore the words. He rummaged through his things looking for nothing, simply trying his best to look disinterested.
“By the way, the kid sent you this.” Rico handed him the envelope. “I’m gonna go shower and shave. Things could break loose anytime now.”
Boomer held the envelope in his hand and stared at the word “Ben” written in green crayon. He sat on the edge of the bed fighting the urge to cry. When he finally opened it and unfolded the paper he closed his eyes and cursed. She had drawn the three of them at the park. He was holding her and Hannah in his arms while birds flew around in the sky.
On the back she had written him a note.
Ben,
Mommy doesn’t think you’re coming back. She’s been crying and won’t stop. I’ve never seen her like this before and it scares me a little. I keep trying to tell her you’ll be back, that we were meant to be together. So don’t take too long. She needs you and I do too.
I love you,
Raya
He pressed the drawing to his chest, just over his heart.
Later that night the dream returned. This time Raya lay on the ground, a bullet hole square in the middle of her forehead. Hannah sat next to her wailing her grief, a bullet wound in her own head. She looked at him with condemnation in her eyes.
“Why did you leave us? Why did you let this happen?” She collapsed on her daughter’s dead body.
A gold ball of light sailed down from the heavens and sat above their bodies. Boomer looked at it through tears. Had it come to take them?
They think you turned your back on them, Benjamin. Have you? Does the punishment fit the crime? Many questions to ask yourself.
“I don’t understand.” He spoke aloud.
The light floated toward him, zipped around his head, winked and then disappeared. He walked toward their bodies when a wicked wind kicked up. As he neared, shielding his eyes from debris whipping in the air, their bodies disintegrated into dust whisked away by the wind.
“No. Don’t take them,” he yelled, his voice disappearing in the roar of the wind.
When he finally reached them they were gone. Nothing but Raya’s shoe was left. He held it tightly in his hands and sobbed.
The choice is yours, Benjamin.
He awoke with a jerk. Tears spilled down his cheeks. He brushed them away with the backs of his hands. This dreaming stuff was getting out of hand. He looked over at Ricochet sleeping soundly. Better not ask him what he thought it meant. He’d give him a thirty-minute lecture. It was nothing, it couldn’t mean anything. They were through.
He lay back down, closed his eyes and tried to forget the look in Hannah’s eyes, the sight of his little sunshine with a hole in her head. It was useless, he couldn’t shake it. Instead he focused on the way Hannah had used him and the raw ache that dwelled in his heart.
Chapter Fifteen
Kong banged on Rico’s and Boomer’s door. “Come
on guys. Time to roll.”
Boomer opened the door. “What’s up?” he asked grabbing his gear.
“Just got a call. Reed Parker was spotted lurking around Hannah’s apartment building.”
Boomer paused. “I thought we were going to snag him at the school, catch him in the act.”
“That’s the plan but we need to see what he wants with Hannah.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Boomer snapped.
“Maybe to you, buddy, but I want the facts not just gut reaction.”
Boomer scowled as Kong turned his back and walked away into the darkness. What was that supposed to mean?
“Come on, buddy, time’s wastin’,” Ricochet said breezing past him.
The ride to Hannah’s apartment was quiet. When they were within a block Kong pulled over and shut off the car engine. He looked up and down the street a few times before he spoke.
“Okay the guy saw us at the school so he’ll recognize us. Keep a low profile, walk up and down the street and keep your eyes open. Don’t approach him, just watch and listen. Sam, he doesn’t know what you look like. You go inside the building. If he’s in there and inside Hannah’s apartment keep your ear to the door.”
“Got it.”
“What happens when he leaves?” Ricochet asked.
“We have another man to follow him. Any more questions? Good, keep your radios open I want constant communication.”
They left the car and began fanning out. Kong walked up the street past the building. Ricochet took a back alley and emerged a block down and Boomer leaned against the car with his arms folded like he was waiting for someone. Sam sashayed up the street like a carefree woman visiting a friend and entered the building.
“I’m in.” She spoke into her radio concealed under the collar of her coat.
“I don’t see anyone resemblin’ our guy,” Rico said.
“Roger that. Me either,” Kong responded.
“Nothing here,” Boomer added.
“He may be inside already, Sam, go on up. Don’t engage.”
“Roger.”
Boomer stood in the cold night air and did his best to approach this as he would any other job. The problem was that it wasn’t just another job. Raya was inside that building and in danger. If Parker was willing to kill his own child at the school, what would stop him from going to her home and doing it? What the hell was Hannah thinking getting involved with a man like that, putting her child at risk? God, he could shake her to pieces for it.
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